Fantasy Baseball 2025 Outfield Breakdown: Who will challenge Aaron Judge, Juan Soto in 2026?
As the 2025 season wraps up this weekend, so too does our position-by-position rundown series. Over these last few weeks, we’ve been reviewing the best at each spot from 2025 and looking ahead to 2026, and we’re concluding today with the outfielders. Here are all of the previous editions:
Catchers
First basemen
Second basemen
Third basemen
Shortstops
Starting pitchers
Closers
2025 POSITION BREAKDOWN: OUTFIELD
🎙️ STATE OF THE POSITION
While there were certainly some surprises — George Springer turning back the clock being the most obvious — the outfield position in 2025 shook out more predictably than most spots. Aaron Judge led the way, just as he did in 2024, and Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez and Corbin Carroll returned first-round value. Even the biggest surprises weren’t true stunners. Pete Crow-Armstrong might have qualified as one through the first half, but he tailed off afterwards. Jackson Merrill was a huge disappointment, but injuries played a role and he also seemed pretty unlucky. Michael Harris II was a true disaster for 3 1/2 months, only to bust out at the end of July and finish as a borderline top-30 outfielder.
So, let’s review the best of the best and then start looking ahead to 2026.
🏆 2025’s Top 15 Outfielders
1. Aaron Judge (Yankees)
.331/.457/.688, 53 HR, 137 R, 114 RBI, 12 SB
At age 33, Judge was even better than ever through two months, hitting .398 with 21 homers in his first 57 games. He faded to a 1.064 OPS afterwards, which was still 50 points better than anyone else’s full season mark, and cruised to his first batting title. Decline really should be setting in at this point, but nothing much about Judge’s career has been traditional.
2. Juan Soto (Mets)
.263/.396/.525, 43 HR, 120 R, 105 RBI, 38 SB
Soto’s modest numbers through two months were a big issue for Mets fans expecting more from their $765 million free agent, but Soto boosted his fantasy value by becoming a basestealer for the first time in his career and then he rebounded offensively, too, hitting 35 homers in his final 105 games. The fascinating thing about the 38 steals, 26 more than his previous career high, was that his sprint speed, typically in the 30-40th percentile in recent years, bottomed out, leaving him in just the 13th percentile of major leaguers.
3. Julio Rodríguez (Mariners)
.267/.324/.474, 32 HR, 106 R, 95 RBI, 30 SB
Rodríguez had 11 homers and a .687 OPS through 93 games before homing in the final three games before the All-Star break. He ended up with 21 homers and a .954 OPS in his final 68 games. One of these years, he’s going to put it together for a full six months and earn himself an MVP award.
4. George Springer (Blue Jays)
.309/.399/.560, 32 HR, 106 R, 84 RBI, 18 SB
Springer’s OPS+ dipped from 145 from 2019-21 to 132 in 2022, 102 in 2023 and 97 in 2024, and it didn’t seem likely that the trend would reverse itself in his age-35 season, However, he wound up hitting .309/.399/.560 for a career-best 161 OPS+. From the beginning of July into early September, he had a 40-game span in which he hit .378/.464/.718 with 16 homers and 48 runs scored.
5. Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks)
.359/.343/.541, 31 HR, 107 R, 84 RBI, 32 SB
Carroll’s big second-half power surge in 2024 (17 of his 22 homers that season came after the break) carried over into 2025, as he finished with 31 homers. His 14.5% barrel rate doubled his career mark of 7.2%. He also ended up going 30/30 despite slacking in the steal department for much of the year; 19 of his 32 steals came during the final two months.
6. Pete Crow-Armstrong (Mets)
.247/.287/.481, 31 HR, 91 R, 95 RBI, 35 SB
Just as much as Cal Raleigh, PCA was the league’s breakout star for much of 2025. However, after hitting .272 with 27 homers and 29 steals through the end of July, he limped home with a .188 average, four homers and six steals in the final third of the season. It’ll make him a divisive figure in spring drafts, but even though batting average could remain a problem, his power and speed aren’t going anywhere.
7. Byron Buxton (Twins)
.264/.327/.551, 35 HR, 97 R, 83 RBI, 24 SB
Buxton’s strongest fantasy campaign to date didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know; he was just able to stay healthy for once. 126 games played made for his second highest total ever behind his 140 in 2017. His 102 games from 2024 is his third highest total, which is a scary low number but also perhaps a sign that he might be one of those odd players who proves healthier in his thirties than in his twenties.
8. Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres)
.268/.368/.446, 25 HR, 111 R, 71 RBI, 32 SB
It really seemed like more was on the way after Tatis hit .345 with eight homers and seven steals through the end of April, but at least he remained healthy; his 155 games played eclipsed his previous high by 14 games. It’s unfortunate that a guy who slugged 81 homers in 273 games from ages 20-22 has come in at 71 in 398 games from ages 24-26, but Tatis is still hitting the ball plenty hard. Part of the problem is that he’s doing so on the ground quite a bit more frequently.
9. Christian Yelich (Brewers)
.264/.343/.452, 29 HR, 88 R, 103 RBI, 16 SB
Yelich was a question mark coming off back surgery, but he played in 150 games while mostly DHing and was of significant help in four categories, even if his .795 OPS didn’t measure up to some of his previous highs.
10. Cody Bellinger (Yankees)
.272/.334/.480, 29 HR, 89 R, 98 RBI, 13 SB
Bellinger surely would have liked one more nice game at the end of the year to finish with 30 homers and 100 RBI as he heads off into free agency, but he was a very well-rounded player for both the Yankees and fantasy leaguers in 2025.
11. Riley Greene (Tigers)
.258/.313/.493, 36 HR, 84 R, 111 RBI, 2 SB
Greene finished with 35 homers and 111 RBI in 236 games between 2023 and ’24 before reaching those total in a lone season at age 24. Still, the 31% strikeout rate is a cause for concern going forward, and his OBP issues cut into his fantasy value with him being dropped to fifth in the Tigers lineup late in the year.
12. James Wood (Nationals)
.256/.350/.475, 31 HR, 87 R, 94 RBI, 15 SB
We’re moving on from the AL leader in strikeouts to the major league leader. Wood was the talk of baseball in the first half of the season, but mid-July saw him enter a dreadful slump in which he hit .202 with three homers and 107 strikeouts in a 60-game span. There are only a handful of players capable of hitting a baseball like Wood can, and he just turned 23 in mid-September. He’s here to stay as a force, even if he remains a streaky one for a while longer.
13. Jackson Chourio (Brewers)
.270/.308/.463, 21 HR, 88 R, 78 RBI, 21 SB
Chourio opened the season simply swinging at every thing, and it did work out for him at times, even if it wasn’t sustainable. Fortunately, things got better as the year went along, and he finished with pretty much the same numbers at age 21 as he did as a 20-year-old rookie. He’s obviously a special talent to be this good while being this young, and it seems like only a matter of time until he emerges as one of the league’s best players.
14. Randy Arozarena (Mariners)
.238/.334/.426, 27 HR, 95 R, 76 RBI, 31 SB
Arozarena finally left himself some room to spare in his fifth straight 20/20 season; he locked it down on July 31 this year after finishing at 20/20, 20/32, 23/22, and 20/20 the previous four years. He also got a boost from the overall improvement in the Mariners’ lineup, finishing with 18 more runs scored and 16 more RBI than in 2024.
15. Kyle Tucker (Cubs)
.266/.377/.464, 22 HR, 91 R, 73 SB, 25 SB
Tucker surely would have been much higher on this list if not for the fractured hand he suffered on June 1 and spent the rest of the year playing through. He also didn’t much like Wrigley Field, hitting .236 with seven homers there and .292 with 15 homers elsewhere.
Matthew Pouliot breaks down the early 2025 top 300 overall rankings.
📈 2026 Breakouts
Roman Anthony (Red Sox)
Anthony emerged as the game’s No. 1 prospect in 2024 yet still exceeded expectations upon reaching the majors in June. He actually opened up 5-for-44 in his first 15 games, but from that point on, he hit a sterling .329/.419/.512 in 56 games before a strained oblique put an end to his rookie season and a big dent into Boston’s World Series hopes. He probably won’t do enough basestealing to rate as a top-five fantasy outfielders as a sophomore, but he’s on his way to becoming one of the league’s best hitters.
Dylan Crews (Nationals)
Crews’ rookie campaign was also marred by a strained oblique, costing him nearly three months in the middle of the year. He wasn’t particularly good offensively before getting hurt or after returning, but Statcast thinks he was awfully unlucky, giving him a .246 xBA and a .418 xSLG that were much more respectable than his actual marks of .208 and .352. Crews still might not emerge as a star in 2026, but he’ll certainly show some improvement, and his steal ability should give him plenty of fantasy value; he’s 29-for-37 on the basepaths in 116 games since debuting in late 2024.
Brenton Doyle (Rockies)
Doyle busted out in 2024 before personal tragedy derailed his 2025 campaign. He did hit .272/.301/.474 with eight homers over the final two months, and he remains one of the Rockies’ most important players going forward. He should return to the top third of the Colorado order and could be good for 25 homers and 25 steals in 2026.
Jac Caglianone (Royals)
Caglianone and Nick Kurtz, the sixth and fourth overall picks in the 2024 draft, had similar pre-debut hype, but their first major league experiences couldn’t have been much more different, with Kurtz turning into the AL Rookie of the Year and Caglianone hitting just .157/.237/.295 in 62 games. Caglianone never seemed overmatched, though, finishing with an essentially league-average .328 xwOBA. That’s certainly not bad for someone who debuted with a total of 79 games of professional experience (and who focused about as much on pitching as hitting while at the University of Florida). It’s not assured that he’ll open 2026 in the majors, but one imagines he’ll end it as a quality regular.
Dylan Beavers (Orioles)
The Orioles waited until Aug. 16 to promote Beavers, ensuring that he’d be eligible for Rookie of the Year honors in 2026. He should be in the running, too. Beavers lacks big-time offensive upside, but he has 20-homer power and ample plate discipline. He should also be capable of stealing 20 bases; he had 23 in 94 games in Triple-A in 2025 and 31 in Double-A in 2024.
📝 2026 Prospects To Know
Walker Jenkins (Twins)
Injuries have been an issue for Jenkins since he was drafted fifth overall in 2023, but they haven’t done much to halt his progress; he still reached Triple-A at age 20, putting him on the cusp of the majors for the rebuilding Twins. Some suspect he’ll get a chance to win a job in spring training, potentially putting the Twins in line for some extra draft compensation if he turns into a Rookie of the Year candidate. Jenkins, who wound up hitting .286/.399/.451 with 10 homers and 17 steals in 84 games in 2025, might be talented enough to pull it off, though a half-season in Triple-A probably wouldn’t hurt him.
Chase DeLauter (Guardians)
After missing the entire second half in Triple-A, DeLauter made his surprise MLB debut for the Guardians in the Wild Card series, going 1-for-6 with a walk against the Tigers. Injuries have always been the story for DeLauter; he’s played in a total of 138 minor league games since being drafted 10th overall in 2022. Still, he’s thrived in hitting .302/.384/.504 as a pro. He probably won’t be worth a significant investment on draft day, but he should be rostered in mixed leagues while healthy.
Justin Crawford (Phillies)
Harrison Bader’s success for the Phillies after arriving at the trade deadline prevented Crawford from getting a chance in the second half of the year, but he might have helped had he gotten to play alongside Bader in the outfield. The 21-year-old wound up batting .334/.411/.452 with 46 steals in Triple-A. An extreme groundball hitter, he’s not going to put up the same kind of numbers in the majors that he has against lesser pitchers and fielders. However, maintaining a decent average and continuing to steal one to two bases per week would give him mixed-league value.
Owen Caissie (Cubs)
Assuming that Tucker walks, the Cubs will have one lineup spot available next year for Caissie, Moisés Ballesteros, or Kevin Alcantara. Ballesteros would be the favorite to claim it, which would push Seiya Suzuki to right field regularly. However, Caissie has a nice case, too, especially since he could play a fair amount of outfield. Caissie hit .286/.386/.551 with 22 homers in 99 games in his second year at Triple-A Iowa. There’d be little point in sending him back there for a third season.
Carson Benge (Mets)
One of the Mets’ tougher calls this winter will be whether to pursue a significant center field upgrade or hope that either Benge or Jett Williams can fill the void. Benge, a 2024 first-round pick, seems nearly ready offensively after hitting .281/.382/.472 with 15 homers and 22 steals at three levels in 2025. Still, it’s probably too much to ask either to start on Opening Day. Williams still played more shortstop and about as much second base as he did center field after moving up to Triple-A last year.
Spencer Jones (Yankees)
The game’s most controversial prospect, Jones ended up hitting .274 with 35 homers, 29 steals and 179 strikeouts in 116 games between Double- and Triple-A. A back injury probably contributed to his late-season struggles (he had six homers and 83 strikeouts in 46 games between Aug. and Sept.). Still, his 35.4% strikeout rate was significantly higher than that of any qualified major league hitter (Ryan McMahon had the high mark there at 32.3%). With Bellinger and Trent Grisham becoming free agents, the Yankees will have some outfield flexibility going forward, but Jones probably needs to go crush the ball in Triple-A for a month or two before he’ll be worth a look.
🔮 2026 Top 30 Outfielders
1. Aaron Judge: 210 homers the last four years, but at age 34, it could be his final year in the top spot.
2. Ronald Acuña Jr.: Had one of the greatest fantasy seasons ever in 2023. He’s not stealing 73 bases again, but 40 homers is very much within reach.
3. Juan Soto: Will he keep running? Citi Field is going to continue to take a little toll on the rest of his numbers.
4. Corbin Carroll: Probably hasn’t peaked just yet, but it hurts that there might not be much behind him in the D-backs’ lineup.
5. Julio Rodríguez: Either draft him this high or trade for him after he spends three months frustrating the person that does.
6. Kyle Tucker: Tucker’s next destination will determine where exactly he falls in the 4-10 range.
7. Fernando Tatis Jr.: 2025 featured the lowest pull rate and the highest groundball rate of his career. Assume he’ll fix one of those, and if he turns it around in both, he could be a juggernaut.
8. Yordan Alvarez: Probably one of the four best hitters in baseball, but he really needs to play in 150 games one of these years.
9. Jackson Chourio: Likely scenario: a step forward in 2026 before becoming an MVP candidate in 2027.
10. James Wood: The warts are obvious, yet he still hit 31 homers at age 22 and even had a .350 OBP in the process.
11. Wyatt Langford: 22 homers, 22 steals as a sophomore. The .775 OPS doesn’t turn heads, but Globe Life played very pitcher friendly in 2025.
12. Pete Crow-Armstrong: Seems destined to keep going 30/30, even if a .300 OBP eludes him.
13. Jarren Duran: While his fantasy value plunged, Duran actually posted his best exit-velocity numbers in 2025. A change of scenery might turn some of his doubles and triples into homers.
14. Jackson Merrill: Everything went south for Merrill in year two, but nothing was super discouraging. It seems safe to bet on a bounce back at age 23.
15. Seiya Suzuki: Suzuki’s power breakout was countered by a .245 average far lower than his career mark of .278, but he seemed rather unlucky in that regard, as his strikeout rate didn’t change much.
16. Roman Anthony: Hopefully, having one of the fastest swings in baseball doesn’t lead to more oblique issues for the uber-talented Anthony.
17. Brent Rooker: Some decline from Rooker’s career year was to be expected, but it figured to be mitigated by the ballpark switch for the A’s. It didn’t work out, but given that he still showed plenty of power while cutting back on the strikeouts, a better 2026 could be in store.
18. Michael Harris II: He’s terribly frustrating, but even as bad as more of his 2025 was, Harris went 20/20 and drove in 86 runs, and for a time, he showed a glimpse of doing so much more.
19. Oneil Cruz: 38 steals in an otherwise thoroughly depressing a season. A trade out of Pittsburgh would send Cruz shooting up the rankings.
20. Mike Trout: A skyrocketing strikeout rate seems like a bad sign, but let’s not write Trout off as a man on a mission taking advantage of a healthier-than-usual offseason.
21. Riley Greene: Might need to think about trading some power for contact after hitting just .218/.279/.415 during the second half.
22. Cody Bellinger: Once baseball’s least predictable player, Bellinger somehow now seems like one of the safer bets here.
23. Teoscar Hernández: That his average dropped to .247 wasn’t backed up by his EV numbers, and it didn’t stop him from driving in 89 runs in 134 games.
24. Dylan Crews: If he earns a spot at the top of the order, Crews could make a run at 40 steals for the Nationals.
25. Ian Happ: 20-25 homers, 80-90 runs and RBI every year.
26. Luis Robert Jr.: Two bad years in a row, but Robert hit .287 and slugged .511 from 2021-23, and he’s still just 28.
27. Byron Buxton: Probably not worth the price tag after the best season of his career.
28. Christian Yelich: Exceeded expectations in return from back surgery, but spike in strikeout rate and modest decline in hard-hit rate aren’t great signs.
29. George Springer: A miraculous turnaround, but the events of recent weeks suggest durability is going to be an issue going forward.
30. Jasson Domínguez: The Martian’s ceiling is in question at this point, but 29 steals in 149 career games still makes him quite interesting for fantasy purposes.
